Dear Brethren,
The message series of our Church worship service from September to December 2013 is about “The Marks”. We have learned The Mark of True Greatest and The Marks of the Committed Christian. God willing, we shall be learning The Marks of Effective Personal Ministry; The Marks of Mission-Minded Christian; The Marks of a Faithful Church; The Marks of a Faithful Congregation; The Marks of a Faithful Preacher; The Marks of True Spiritual Service and the Marks of Spiritual Unity.
Last week I spoke on The Marks of the Committed Christian. The questions we have to ask ourselves are:
What kind of a Christian am I?
Am I everything I promised Jesus Christ to be since I began my Christian journey?
Have I been loyal to my Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, in my life?
We learned from the Scripture text from John 13:31-38 the 3 Marks of the Committed Christian. Here is a summary of the message that was preached. May we be reminded from God’s Word our calling and duty as a Christian that we do not come to Church for “play” and out of routine.
1. John 13:31 to 16:33 was the farewell speech Jesus gave to His 11 disciples the night before His death on the cross. Judas had departed ready to betray Jesus. Jesus gave precious instructions and warnings to His disciples. The Lord Jesus started the instructions by telling the disciples the 3 marks of the committed Christian. Jesus was soon to leave them on this earth and the disciples would be the people the world would hear and see the Gospel message. If they fail in their duty to be committed Christians, then the world will not be able to know the truth.
2. The first mark of the committed Christian is his unswerving focus on God’s glory (v.31-33). The committed Christian’s preoccupation is his Lord’s glory and not about himself. When God is glorified, all can see and know and experience His attributes. In v.31-32, the word “glory’ appears 5 times and every time it is about Christ’s glory and the Heavenly Father’s glory.
3. The glory of Jesus Christ is tied to the cross in His death for sinners. Jesus Christ is glorified at the cross because we can truly see divine love and mercy manifested to sinners. We see divine wisdom in the salvation plan of God unfolded before our eyes in Jesus’ death to save us. God the Father is glorified too because we can see His faithfulness to keep His Word to send a Saviour to save us. This was first promised by God the Father in Genesis 3:15 when man fell into sin. The glory of Jesus Christ is not just at the cross but through all ages to come. The Bible tells us when Jesus returns again, all knees will bow to Him and all tongues will confess that He is God to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11)
4. The second mark of the committed Christian is his unending love for the brethren (v.34-35). We are to love one another, and not pick only those who are loveable. We are to love with the standard Jesus has set which is how He loves us. This love for one another ought to be selfless, sacrificial and forgiving. Only in this way, the world will see that we are Jesus’ disciples. True love for one another means be able to say “I am sorry” and “I forgive you” sincerely from our hearts. The way to love is humility. Proud people cannot love others.
5. The third mark of the committed Christian is his unfailing loyalty to his Master Jesus Christ (v.36-38). The disciple Peter failed the test of loyalty in denying the Lord Jesus three times though he had said he was willing to die for Jesus. Peter failed in his loyalty test because he boasted too much, prayed too little and followed too far from Jesus Christ. There is a big gap between promised loyalty and actual loyalty.
6. What about your loyalty today? How much do you promise Jesus? You will love Him, serve Him, be faithful to Him? Forsake your sin? Witness for Him? Give your tithes and offering? Come to Prayer meeting? Go for mission? But when the test comes and the opportunity comes, did you fulfill your promise to the Lord Jesus? Did you pass the test of loyalty? Peter failed the test but thank God that he repented and God turned him around to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ who preached courageously and eventually died for the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus is calling every true Christian to be committed to Him which means 100% commitment. Let us strive to be the Committed Christian as the Lord Jesus Christ has called us to be.
Elder John Leong